A CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE
by Gene'sGenie1969
Summary: He may be a billionaire genius and super-hero, but from time to time even the great and narcissistic Tony Stark can suffer a crisis of confidence.  It takes a few heart-felt words from the one person who understands him best, to make sense of it all…


**A CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE.**

**So, here I am, letting loose my second ever fan fic - and my first Iron Man story…..I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing!**

**I don't own Marvel, or Tony, or Pepper, but I am delighted to have had them running riot through my mind over the last few weeks, and have loved making them dance to my tune, if only for a little while…**

**GG**

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Tony has been in the workshop for over 72 hours without a break. During this time, Pepper has ventured down the stairs three times - twice to offer him sustenance (which was rejected, with the exception of the coffee) and finally, halfway through the second day, simply to check he was still alive.

She had found him beneath his latest project, his denim clad legs and work boots just visible. The music coming from the surround-sound speakers had been fierce and loud, and she had been unable to make even JARVIS's sensitive hearing recognise her voice, to reduce the volume. She had sighed and switched the stereo off herself. The immediate silence was startling. Then, Tony had exploded from under the metal-work, wild-haired and staring, his pupils dilated and his face covered in oil.

"Do NOT turn my music off!" he had growled, wiping his hands on a rag.

"I was just checking you hadn't died down here.." she had protested, moving towards him. "You've been down here for more than two days…"

"I'm busy. I'll come out when I'm finished" he had snapped, turning the music back on and retreating beneath his creation.

After this interaction, she had given up, and shut herself away in her office with only her financial projections for company. The hell with him. Something was evidently wrong, but she was damned if she was going to lose any more sleep over him. If he wanted to pull a three day straight session, that was his problem. She was his PA, not his mother…..

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That had been more than a day ago, and now, as she pads into the kitchen in her stocking feet in search of a drink, she gradually becomes aware that the pounding, reverberating music emanating from the basement has ceased. Tentatively, she creeps downstairs and taps the pass-code into the security door.

The lights are dimmed and she sees the faint blue glow of the arc reactor through his white vest. He is stretched out on the battered couch, nursing a half-empty bottle of brandy. Fantastic…so in addition to three days' worth of caffeine (plus whatever substances he has used to keep himself awake for so long) he is also now full of alcohol. He looks up as she approaches.

"Hey Potts" he smiles ruefully "listen - about earlier…I'm sorry…I shouldn't have yelled at you…I just…had stuff on my mind…" Cautiously, she perches on a crate beside him.

"Want to talk about it?" she ventures. He runs his hand through his hair and sighs, shrugging his shoulders. It is a childish gesture, almost as if he is sulking.

"No point. Can't help" He swigs messily from the bottle, spilling a little. He rubs his face with the back of his hand, leaving an oily mark across his cheek. She fights the urge to lean across and wipe it away….

He shifts on the couch to face her, his dark brown eyes serious.

"It's just….well, what is it all about? What's the point of all this?" He waves a hand vaguely toward the new invention (she still cannot tell what it is, but it is imposing and angry-looking)

"What's the point of any of it? What the hell am I here for?"

Pepper frowns and wrinkles her nose, something she always does when she is puzzled.

"I'm sorry - I don't know what you mean…..?" she tails off helplessly.

"Me. What am I here for?" he elaborates.

"What are you here for?" she echoes. "You are here to be you. Tony Stark. Iron Man. Genius inventor, billionaire playboy, super-hero, saviour of the world…shall I go on?" She isn't sure if he is playing a game with her - teasing her, and she isn't comfortable with it.

"It's all totally irrelevant" he states flatly. "It doesn't mean anything"

She is becoming frustrated.

"Tony, if this is just you trying to get me to flatter you some more….boost your ego….tell you how much the world loves you… I'm too tired for games"

He sighs heavily.

"It's not a game, Potts. I mean it. None of this means anything. Yeah - I'm a rich guy. I can buy my way into anything I want. But there's nothing I do that couldn't be done by any smart-arsed MIT kid with a bright idea and a few bucks behind him"

Pepper shakes her head.

"Okay, enough now - you need to sleep. You've been awake for over three days, you're full of caffeine, booze and God knows what else, and you're not making any sense. What started this, anyway?"

Tony places the bottle on the floor beside him and turns heavy-lidded eyes towards her.

"That gala the other night. I got talking to this guy. He's a surgeon. A neuro-surgeon. He spends his working days with his hands inside people's heads. He can fix the human brain, for Christ's sake! They say I am a genius….Jeez, I just have smart ideas and I'm lucky enough to have the money to make them work. That guy - he changes lives…..saves lives. He's the genius - he's the super-hero. And at the end of the day, he goes home to his wife and his kids - he has these three kids who adore him. He matters. Me? I'm just a guy with money. It means nothing. _I_ mean nothing" He is beginning to ramble, and his eyelids are becoming heavy.

Pepper moves closer to him, and places her hands on his cheeks, turning him towards her.

"Tony, this is crazy talk. _You _have saved lives. You _create_. Across the world, everyone knows who you are - of course you _mean _something. You are trying to bring peace. Maybe you are 'just a guy' but you are a guy with extraordinary talents, and you are using them for good…"

A soft snore escapes him and Pepper realises he has at last succumbed to sleep. Moving quietly so as not to disturb him, she takes the blanket from the back of the couch and covers him. She sits beside him again. Knowing he is asleep makes her bold.

"Tony Stark, don't you ever think you don't matter. You have no idea how much you matter. You are, without doubt the most difficult, spoiled and infuriating human being I have ever come across. You have made me scream with fury - and cry with frustration. But you have also left me helpless with laughter - and blown me away with your generosity" She watches him sleep, his features softened as he relaxes. She wants to touch him. Softly, she brushes her thumb across his cheek where the oil-smudge is, and he stirs slightly. As if scalded, she retracts her hand.

Satisfied that he is still asleep, she continues.

"You are the reason I keep coming here every day. The reason I put up with all the crap that follows you around. I have a good salary - perks of the job, all that…..but the one thing that makes me do this job…..is you. Only you. I would come here, every day, for half the pay…for no pay at all. Just to be with you. So don't you ever think you are nothing. Because you are everything to me. You are my everything" Her voice breaks a little as she speaks these last few words, and, unable to resist, she leans forward and lays a tender kiss on his lips.

She pulls the blanket further around his shoulders and stands, stretching the day's aches from her shoulders before she moves quietly toward the door.

As she leaves, Tony stirs on the couch. One brown eye opens, and he smiles to himself. He can still feel the gentle touch of her lips on his own. He has heard every word. In a matter of moments, the doubts and fears of the past few days have vanished and he knows that he can face anything now. For the moment, he is physically and emotionally exhausted, but tomorrow, he will take her in his arms and tell her how he feels. Tomorrow, they will make plans.

Tomorrow he will be able to take on the world - he will be invincible - because she is his.

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**Thanks for reading - I hope they have brought a little warm fuzziness into your day!**

**Please review if you get a chance - I think I may be writing a little more for these two!**

**GG x**


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